Todor Tagarev, Vasil Rizov
The provision of cybersecurity requires diverse capabilities, typically provided by several main organizations plus numerous other public, private, and societal actors. This article explores alternative ways of organizing these capabilities at a national level and attempts to define a ‘best’ model. For that purpose, the authors outline six alternative models positioned along two dimensions according to the degree of coordination among main cybersecurity contributors and the degree of centralization. These alternative models are evaluated vis-a-vis five criteria—Effectiveness, Efficiency, Resilience, Agility, and Cooperation—using the analytical hierarchy process and interviewing 88 experts from the public administration, academia, and the business sector. The results indicate a clear preference for robust operational cooperation and coordination in the development of cybersecurity capabilities. They can serve as evidence in the search for the best organizational arrangements. The findings are context-specific and reflect the Bulgarian culture. Yet, the methodology is applicable in any context, and the results might be of interest to cybersecurity policymakers globally.